Digimon Tamers: Amends
by Frozen Phoenix
Summary: After Ai and Makoto start arguing over him again, Impmon goes to the park to have a little fun. But an unexpected rainstorm triggers hidden memories of his past.


A/N: Just another Impmon fic, what can I say he's my favorite character. I thought that since Ai and Makoto considered Impmon to be something of a plaything in the earlier flashbacks, that would lead to Impmon and them meeting. And as for Alraumon, her digimon card stated "she gets her smell from Palmon." I just did my own interpretation of that within my story. Yaamon is the name of Impmon's Baby II form, and his attack is official. This is AU, given the ending of Tamers. I hope it's not too boring, that I kept everyone in character and that you enjoy the story. 

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is the property of Toei Animation and Bandai. Alraumon and Fladramon belong to me. 

Amends

By Frozen Phoenix

What a rotten day. Impmon thought with disgust. The small purple demon made a face at the green grass and tall trees that surrounded him. And on top of that, there ain't nothin' to do. It seemed like all the humans had chosen the perfect day for him to scare the pants off them to just to stay home. Like he had planned to do. 

He hadn't wanted to go out that day. The weather was windy and he could tell by the sky that it was going to rain. The look of disgust on his face deepened. He hadn't planned on going to the park, but with many humans still terrified of even the mention of the word "digimon," he knew that scouring the streets like he used to do, wasn't really an option at the moment. 

Still the alternative to going out made him cringe. "Where the heck does she get of tryin' to do that to me?" Impmon said aloud angrily. "What does she think I am, some kinda doll?" 

He had been with his twin red head Tamers Ai and Makoto for around eight months, though would never admit that he enjoyed it. He had missed them, when he had been out on his own, though he had constantly denied it. 

Ever since he'd been created, Impmon was always a survivor. He had learned quickly from his time in the Digital World that no one was going to help him survive; he would always be on his own. It was when you relied on other people that you ended up being weak. 

Or so he had thought. When he was alone he had been miserable and weaker than ever. It had been those feelings of inferiority and inadequacy, and not to mention a beating from a horse Deva that could have won an ugly contest hands down that had led Impmon to make one of the most important decisions of his life. 

He had "surrendered his soul" to one of the Sovereigns of the Digital World, in exchange for the power to evolve and become stronger. But the power he had received had tainted him, making him an iniquitous monster with no regard for anyone but himself. He had ruthlessly attacked the Tamers, had killed Juri's partner Leomon and even enjoyed seeing her scream about it. 

Was I one messed up 'mon or what? Impmon thought miserably. But he hadn't come to the park to "reminisce about old times." He had wanted to start a little trouble, cause a little mayhem to get the anger he felt out of his system. 

He hadn't meant to get angry, but sometimes his Tamers pushed him over the edge. Today had been one of those times. 

***

In the living room of a large house, Impmon sat on the floor with one of his Tamers Ai. The floor around them was almost covered with dress up clothes of all colors and shapes, all them being of the female variation.

"Please Impmon? We need you!" Ai whined. 

"I told ya kid, no way." Impmon said, trying his best to be patient with her.

Ai looked at him as though he had just killed their puppy. "But you played with Makoto. Why won't you play with me?" 

Impmon rolled his eyes. "I said I'd play with you, just not that!" 

Makoto walked in to the room and made a face at the clothes around him. "You're not trying to make him play dress up are you? He asked his sister with disgust.

Ai pouted. "You played with Impmon in the morning, now I get to play with him. And I wanna play dress up." 

"He doesn't wanna play with you." 

Oh no. Impmon was beginning to have a feeling of déjà vu. Not again.

"He does to want to play with me, right Impmon?" Ai looked at him pleadingly.

Before he could say anything, Makoto cut him off. "No, he wants to play video games with me." 

"Nuh uh, me!" Ai said loudly.

"Why would he want to dress up like a girl?"

"He would be pretty and we could have tea and-"

Impmon felt his short temper rising. They hadn't been like this for months. He thought that they had really learned their lesson from the last time they started arguing over him.

Makoto stuck his tongue out at Ai causing her to squeal loudly. She grabbed Impmon and glared at her brother. "Impmon does want to play with me. You had your turn, now it's mine!" 

That was the last straw. Impmon yanked away from Ai and yelled loudly, "KNOCK IT OFF!" Both twins looked at him in surprise, then shame. He glared at both them with anger. 

"I thought you both learned your lessons. But you still haven't changed. You're still the same spoiled little brats you were last time." His fingers were practically itching to use his Night of Fire attack, but even though he was angry, that was something he would never do, not to them. 

Ai and Makoto looked crestfallen. "Sorry Impmon." They both said simultaneously. 

"Even though Ai started it." Makoto added sullenly. 

"Did not! You're the one that started it Makoto!" 

Impmon watched them as they began arguing. He vaguely considered yelling again to get their attention and then dismissed the idea. Fine, if they want to argue over me, then let's see 'em do it when I ain't here. He thought furiously. 

He walked out of the living room, stepping on the clothes as he went out into the kitchen. He heard the sound of their mother's voice as he walked by a flight of stairs.

 "Ai, Makoto, both of you stop arguing right now. What would you're father say if he came home and heard you two?" 

Impmon was out the door before either of them responded.

***

After going over the afternoon's events, Impmon couldn't help but wonder if he had been too harsh to his Tamers. They were still little kids after all. And they were probably cranky since they were unable to go outside like they usually did. They also hadn't argued over him for months and this had probably been an ill-timed relapse. The more Impmon thought about it, the worse he felt. 

I shouldn't have left. He thought miserably. The probably think that I left 'em forever this time. I hafta go back. He thought resolutely. As if on reading his thoughts, the wind howled loudly beside him. He began walking quickly in the direction of his Tamers' house, and suddenly felt a few drops of water hit his shoulder. Great, this is all I need today. He thought in aggravation. 

He began to run as quickly as he could, his eyes searching for cover before the rain would catch him.  He smirked when the familiar structure of Guilmon's hideout caught his eye. He hoped that the lizard wasn't in there. Guilmon was one of the most gullible and trusting digimon Impmon had ever met, which made him the perfect target for Impmon's conning and tricks. 

Impmon ran as fast as short legs could carry him as the wind blew harder and the rain began to torrent around him. Cursing weathermen everywhere Impmon opened the gate, and made his way into the hideout. It wasn't Ai and Makoto's house, but it was better than nothing. 

He leaned against one of the solid walls and sighed. Guilmon wasn't there, and although Impmon was slightly glad, he was also hungry and knew that if he had seen Guilmon he probably could have stole some bread off him. _Well ya can't have everything in life. _

Impmon watched the rain fall down as though dropped from buckets. The scene outside seemed so…familiar to him, though he was having trouble placing it. Snarling in annoyance he tried to push the thought aside. It was a rainstorm, big deal. He'd seen tons of them before. 

But still…maybe it was because he had nothing better to think about and maybe because he was curious, Impmon allowed his mind to drift into the past…

***

In the grassy tree filled forest section of the Digital World, a storm raged and a small digimon sat shivering. This Baby II digimon called Yaamon was only a small purple head, with a light green color in the interior of his face. His green eyes were squeezed shut as he tried not to allow the water that fell around him to enter them. He was positioned beneath the tallest of trees and feeling miserable.

He wasn't sure how long he had been there; alone among the foliage, all he knew was that he was hungry, cold and lonely. Although there were many digimon resident to the forest, most of them had found some type of shelter during the storm, while his low level and lack of feet left him in his uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation. 

Yaamon knew that when the storm ended, the other digimon would be on the prowl once again, and that his lack of power could make him an easy target. For not the first time, Yaamon wished that there were other digimon with him, at least then he'd have someone to talk to. 

The wind gusted suddenly, uprooting many plants and Yaamon felt himself get pulled into the sky. _This is it._ He thought sadly. _And I didn't get the chance to make any friends or even evolve. _As the wind blew strongly around him, Yaamon felt himself slip into unconsciousness. 

***

The forest was in shambles. The foliage was disheveled and trees had been uprooted and were out of sorts. A short digimon stood in a muddy part of the forest and sighed contentedly. _Ah,_ she thought,_ there's nothing like a rainstorm to make the soil extra soft._ She smiled as she felt the nutrients being absorbed into her body through her roots. 

Her name was Alraumon and as a plant type digimon, the forest was her ideal place to live. She resembled a Palmon in appearance, save having black eyes instead of green and a purple flower atop her head instead of pink. There was also another difference between Alraumon and so-called twin; Alraumon had a very strong odor. 

She wasn't sure why or how it had happened, one minute she was Tanemon and the next she had evolved into her Child form Alraumon, with a strong scent to accompany it. She had tried to pretend that it didn't exist, but when she traveled to different areas of the Digital World, the other digimon weren't nearly as courteous. 

_"What a smell!" "I don't even have a nose and I can smell it!"_ Comments like that hadn't done much to give Alraumon a positive attitude. Her smile changed to a smirk as she remembered the last digimon to make fun of her. She had paralyzed the Chuumon with her Gloom Dust attack, and then crushed him with her Nemesis Ivy. His data hadn't given her the boost that she wanted, but as she continued on her travels, the more digimon she would meet and absorb.

What she wanted most was to evolve. Like all digimon, her mission was to evolve to become stronger. But she also wanted to do so because she was tired of being ostracized due to her…problem. 

_I better keep moving. _She thought. _There are so many digimon to absorb and so little time._ She reluctantly pulled her roots from the ground and began walking. She gingerly stepped over upturned branches and stones until she came to a cracked tree. Sprawled in front of it was a very small purple blob. It was covered in scratches and looked as though it had been given to a Tailmon to play with. Alraumon grinned wickedly. _How cute._ _All injured and all alone. Of course he's as weak as anything but still, I'm not about to let good data got to waste. _

She moved closer to it and cringed when a stick that she stepped on broke with an audible crack. As if on cue, the digimon slowly opened its eyes. 

"Good." Alraumon said aloud. "I would have hated to just absorb you without you putting up a little fight. Of course it won't change the outcome of the battle, but it does make things a little more fun."

***

Yaamon felt terrible. Every part of his small body ached and he was surprised that he was still alive. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while, but finally opened his eyes blearily when he heard a loud cracking sound. 

Standing in front of him was an unfamiliar digimon, with a large flower on her head. She was pretty, but the look on her face made Yaamon feel slightly afraid. _Maybe she wants to help me._ He thought hopefully. But when she finally spoke Yaamon felt his hope vanish. 

"Good." She said. "I would have hated to just absorb you without you putting up a little fight. Of course it won't change the outcome of the battle, but it does make things a little more fun."

Yaamon's voice was unsteady. "Wh-why do you want to absorb me? I haven't hurt you."

Alraumon came closer and raised both her hands over her head. That's when Yaamon noticed her terrible smell. "It's nothing personal, I assure you. In fact it's surprisingly simple. I want to be strong, and to do so, I need to destroy and absorb as many digimon as I can. You just happened to be at the right place at the right time."  

She's really mean. Yaamon went from feeling slightly afraid to terrified. Part of him was angry as well. If I could evolve then maybe she wouldn't hurt me. 

Alraumon saw the digimon try and move and laughed. "C'mon, get up. At least show some backbone before you die." 

Yaamon struggled to rise, but the pain of his injuries caused him to fall back to the ground.

"No? How pathetic. I'm getting bored and I think I'll bring this little party to a close. Nemesis Ivy!" She called out loudly. 

The strange long fingers on Alraumon's hands extended into lengthy vines. Yaamon was frozen as they wrapped around him tightly and began pulling him closer to her. It seemed as though the closer he got, the tighter the vines constricted. He tried to move, but found himself sufficiently trapped.

She watched with malicious glee. "Go ahead, struggle. It won't work. Your data is mine."

I have to do something; I just can't let her beat me. Yaamon was having trouble breathing and was fairly certain that he'd explode into nothingness in a few seconds. He had an idea, and now seemed as good as any time to try it. 

The moment he was directly in front of Alraumon, he opened his mouth widely and screamed, "Rolling Black!"  A large black bubble exploded from within his jaws and hit Alraumon straight in her face, causing her to scream. 

"You little demon! I'll make you pay for that!" She shrieked. Yaamon felt her vines loosen around him and suddenly tumbled to the ground. He immediately began to hop, trying his best to get away from the blind, sadistic digimon. But only a few feet from her, he felt her Nemesis Ivy begin to entrap him once again. 

Yaamon felt defeated. After all that, I can't win. She's gonna delete and absorb me. It's not fair! I never did anything to her; all I wanted was to be her friend. If I was on a higher level then I could beat her. I know I could beat her and make her feel all the pain she's caused me and digimon everywhere. I won't let her win!

Alraumon saw the demonic little fool who had dared to attack her begin to glow. What is that little runt up to now? She tightened her Nemesis Ivy around him, but still heard him shout: "Yaamon! Evolve to…Impmon!" The glowing ceased and someone new was entwined within her Ivy. 

Alraumon grunted as the new digimon's weight forced her Nemesis Ivy to lower him to the ground. Her face was trapped in a snarl of fury, as she looked upon he who called himself Impmon. 

He was almost exactly her height, with deep purple skin and the same bright green eyes that burned with anger. Her wore a strange red bandana around his neck and a ridiculous smiley face was plastered upon his slightly chubby stomach. His hands were dotted with white claws and when he smirked at her, Alraumon was sure she was in trouble. 

"What's wrong viney? Did ya get a whiff of yourself or somethin'?" Impmon asked in mock concern. 

The plant digimon's snarl deepened. "You'll regret that! Gloom Dust!" 

Small golden bits of pollen flew from the top of her head aimed straight at Impmon. But the quick purple digimon jumped out of its way to safety. He could see that Alraumon was practically insane with fury. _Now all I gotta do is get her to come at me._ He thought assuredly. 

"So, did you always smell like something that died or did getting your head stuck up a Raremon's butt have somethin' to do with it?" _C'mon, c'mon…_

As he expected, she rushed him. "I'll tear you to shreds! Nemesis Ivy!" The vines extended and Impmon's smirk widened. _Gotcha!_

Impmon quickly raised his hands as the vines came at him. "Summon," a circle of red flames rose, setting the vines on fire, "Flame!" A pink fireball arose from within the circle and at Impmon's command flew right at Alraumon. 

Still shocked that her Nemesis Ivy was aflame, Alraumon was unable to avoid the fireball. She gave a wild shriek as the flames impacted her body, setting it ablaze in seconds. Impmon watched coldly as she disintegrated into small bits of data and instinctively spread his arms wide ready to receive it. 

His eyes widened as he felt the sudden influx of power enter his body, but mere seconds later it was over. He felt stronger than ever before and gave a loud laugh at the sheer oddness of the situation…

***

_Who woulda thought that a runty little Yaamon would have had the guts to try and delete that walking compost heap? _Impmon thought._ It's not like she didn't deserve it. Still, If hadn't met her I probably wouldn't have evolved. I guess in some messed up way, I kinda owe her one. _

She had also unintentionally taught him a lesson about himself. After that battle, he knew that he had to survive on his own and that no one would give him a hand. He had no reason to feel lonely anymore either he had convinced himself. He had defeated Alraumon by himself; he hadn't even needed anyone else. They probably would have just gotten in the way.  

Impmon looked out at the gate and was depressed to see that the rain looked as though it had no intention of stopping. _Lousy weathermen. They sit around all day doin' nothing and when it supposed to pour they call it "light showers." There ain't nothing light about this. _

Impmon glared at the waterlogged park in frustration. The longer he was stuck there, then the more time he was away from Ai and Makoto. _I gotta apologize to 'em and explain what happened. But what if they don't want to see me?_ Impmon looked down at the dirty stone floor. After all the time he had spent with his Tamers, they had really begun to grow on him. It was something he hated to admit, especially after all the time he had spent hating humans and denying his feelings in favor of loneliness and solitude. 

Here he was Impmon, who could evolve into one of the most powerful digimon in existence, mooning over two spoiled human children.  If he had been someone else he would have said he was pathetic. _No, wait that was Indaramon's job._ He thought sarcastically. 

Just thinking about the ugly Deva only made Impmon angrier. He had received the worst beating of his life from him. Then again, being sneak attacked by that ADR when he had tried to rescue Juri from the lunatic computer program D-Reaper hadn't been a picnic either. 

But thinking about it, Impmon could remember another battle in which he'd had the tar beaten out of him. Impmon's eyes narrowed as he pictured his adversary, Fladramon…

***

After his victory over Alraumon, Impmon had decided to leave the now desolate forest that had been his home. He didn't want to be reminded of the times he had spent hungry and wishing for the company of others. He had evolved and absorbed a semi-powerful Child digimon, and didn't need anyone else. 

After spending most of the day traveling through the broken forest and looking for digimon to fight, he came to a large blue lake. _I never noticed this before._ He thought. _Then again when you hafta hop to get around, you tend to miss things._ Impmon looked around the around the lake, slightly wary about getting a drink. 

_The last thing I need is to have some smart aleck Scubamon or Seadramon to drag me under._ After his experience in the previous night's rainstorm, Impmon had developed a large dislike of water. He stood close to the lake, considering his options, when a large noise came from a patch of brush close to him. Impmon immediately was on guard, both excited and anxious about this new visitor.

A large figure emerged from the bushes and his appearance was enough to surprise Impmon. This digimon was tall, dragon type, somewhere around six feet. The visible parts of his sapphire skin were covered in large scars and the rest of his body was encased in flame emblazoned armor. Large spines ran down his back and lengthy, jagged claws extended from his armored feet and hands._ A Fladramon, never thought I'd see one of those._ Impmon thought slightly impressed. He looked like a digimon that had been in some serious battles. 

Fladramon moved towards the lake with an almost graceful gait, given his large raised feet. As if sensing Impmon's presence, Fladramon turned his large head to look at him. Fladramon smirked at him, and Impmon noticed the two sharp teeth outside his mouth. Only one of his red eyes held a look of amusement and when he finally turned away, Impmon noticed that a black space had replaced his other eye socket. 

The Fladramon then proceeded to the lake, all but ignoring Impmon while he bent down and began to lap up the water. Impmon watched him drink and narrowed his eyes. There was something about this digimon, he just didn't trust him. And when Fladramon suddenly jerked his head from the water, he knew had a reason not to. 

"Fire Knuckle!" Fladramon called as he jumped in front Impmon. _Crap!_ Impmon thought as he fell to the ground trying to avoid the balls of fire released from Fladramon's armored hand._ What kinda trick was that?_

The fireballs kept coming and Impmon knew that if he didn't do something, he'd end up roasted and burned to a crisp. When Fladramon stopped splaying the fireballs, Impmon used his delay to stand up. _If I can get him into the lake, then I got him._ Impmon thought remembering how he'd defeated Alraumon. He used his own fire-based attack Night of Fire and aimed it directly at the Fladramon's missing eye. 

Fladramon simply crossed his arms in front of him and batted the attack away. "Fire Knuckle!" The attack flew from his hands and even when Impmon ducked, one hit him directly in his chest, knocking him into a broken tree. Impmon was suddenly disoriented, he felt terrible pain in his chest and the wind had been knocked out of him. He tried to rise, when another fireball hit him in the same place. Then another and another. 

Impmon was in agony. For the first time, though not the last in his life, he wished he were dead. He would have done just about anything to end it. He heard the sound of talons digging into the ground and saw Fladramon sanding over him with a look of savage triumph on his face. Impmon was in so much pain that he hadn't realized that Fladramon was no longer attacking him. 

"Whatever you're going to do, just get it over with." He rasped to the armored digimon.  

Fladramon didn't speak and slowly dropped one of his hands and grabbed Impmon by the bandana. He lifted the smaller digimon out in front of him and drew back his hand to give the final blow. Impmon watched him dejectedly and saw him hesitate. _Now what? _

Fladramon cocked his head as though listening to something far away, then looked back at Impmon. He grunted and finally threw the broken digimon back into the tree. Without another look, Fladramon jumped over the tree and back into the brush that he had come from. A minute later, Impmon could have sworn he'd heard some kind of scream, but couldn't be sure. The only thing that he knew was that he had to get out of the forest fast! Unable to move for a time, he then awkwardly picked himself up and despite his pain, began to walk. 

He didn't know how far he'd walked until he collapsed. Somehow he made it out of the forest, but could go no further. His heavy lidded eyes looked at the sky and he sighed. _I guess this is really it. I didn't even get to go out with a boom! _But instead he was going to die due to some stupid Fladramon's sneak attack._ I bet that the one eyed coward probably couldn't even string sentences together. _ He thought trying to make himself feel better. 

The sky was something he had never looked at, but now he couldn't take his eyes of it. The strange ball, the red lights, it was almost beautiful to him. Impmon snorted. _I must be losing it if I'm picking out the scenery. I wonder what's up there anyway. Whatever it is, it has to be better than this dump. _He was aware of his eyes beginning to close and fought against it. _I don't wanna go yet, I deserve to do somethin' with my life! Maybe be Impmon the most powerful digimon known throughout the Digital World. Anything is better than this! _

"Anything!" He screamed aloud to the unrelenting sky. Only silence met him. He felt tears begin to fill his green eyes, and hated himself for the weakness that had allowed him to enter this situation. Looking down at the ground, Impmon didn't even notice one of the red lights shoot down from the sky and was surprised as he felt it envelop him. And when he felt himself phasing in and out and being pulled upwards, only then did he close his eyes. 

***

On a warm, sunny day in West Shinjuku, two twin, red haired children had found something strange in their backyard. It was purple and small, like them. It had a bright red scarf on his neck and big ears, and a long tail. It was also covered in numerous scratches and burns and its eyes were closed tightly. 

"What is it?" He asked. 

"Doggy?" She guessed.

Makoto scowled. "Dogs aren't purple." But then uncertainly asked, "Are they?" 

Hearing some type of sound, Impmon opened his eyes slightly. All he saw was light for a moment and slowly it became clearer. He looked upward and saw the strangest faces he'd ever seen. But the stress of the movement was too much on his battered body. Though he fought it, he felt his eyes closing and his body slumping to the ground again. 

"We should go ask Mommy." Ai said assuredly looking at her brother. She bent down and picked up Impmon's battered body and held him tightly in her arms.

"Maybe Mom can fix it too." Makoto nodded.  

***

Coming once again to consciousness, Impmon slowly opened his eyes. He could hear noise, it sounded like people talking close by. He shifted slightly and found himself on something soft and…warm. He stood up shakily and looked around. _Where the heck am I? _He wondered.The last thing he remembered was getting the crap knocked out of him by Fladramon, a bright light and then faces. Strange faces. 

After standing too long, Impmon suddenly began to feel dizzy. He ignored it. _I gotta get outta here._ He slowly shuffled out of the large room and strange lights and sounds assaulted him, causing him to cringe. The sounds grew louder and he moved from a long hallway into another room.

"I have no idea what exactly that creature is or where it came from, but there is no way that we can keep it." A female voice said. 

"But Mommy!" Two lighter voices said simultaneously.

_They have to be talkin' about me. _Impmon looked into the room and saw a tall creature with red hair placed in a circle on top of her head sitting on a large tan thing, with two smaller creatures with the same red hair and light eyes. But their faces were sad and sulky.

"No buts." The "Mommy" looked at the two smaller ones with exasperation. "Ai, Makoto, we don't know what that thing is or what it can do. It's not normal, it's some kind of a freak." 

_Freak?! I'll show you a freak!_ Impmon mentally snarled. He raised one of his hands as if to use his Night of Fire attack, but without the extra hand grasping the wall, Impmon overbalanced and fell inside the room. 

The three turned to look at him, the older one looking frightened and the smaller ones surprised. They both jumped up from their seats and ran to him. 

"Are you okay?" The one called Ai asked him. Impmon looked at her angrily. "I'm fine!" He then stood shakily. 

Both kids gasped and the Mommy covered her mouth in shock. 

"Wow." The male Makoto said incredulously. 

The small female smiled. "I'm Ai, who're you?" 

"Ai!" Her mother called to her as she pulled her and Makoto away. 

"Mommy, lemme go!" Makoto whined. 

Ai joined him, "Me too!"

Despite his pain, Impmon watched them with curiosity. He'd never seen creatures like them before. Why was he with them? Where was the Digital World? And Fladramon, that overgrown coward, where was he hiding?

He looked at the three creatures and tilted his head. "Where am I?  He finally spoke. 

Ai and Makoto looked at each other and laughed. "You're in Shujinku." Ai answered. 

"It's Shinjuku, not Shujinku." Makoto corrected her. 

Impmon was loosing patience. "What the heck's a Shinjuku?" 

The taller one answered him. "West Shinjuku is in Tokyo, a part of Japan."   
  
Ai, Makoto, Shinjuku, Japan, it all seemed so unreal to Impmon. He was hurt and a loud growl emerged from his stomach. 

"You sound hungry." Ai pointed out. "Mommy, can we give him food?" 

"Please?"

The woman looked at her children then at the small purple creature in front of her. He was strange, there was definitely no questioning that. But her children didn't even notice it. They just wanted to feed and play with him as though he were some kind of a pet. But she could tell from the way he, acted and talked that he might not allow it. She sighed. _I hope that I am not making a mistake._

"Very well, I think there's something for him in the refrigerator. But he's very hurt, it would probably be a good idea to bandage him up," She looked at Impmon. "If you'll let us. We only wish to help you." 

It was all up to him and for the first time Impmon wasn't sure what he should do. These creatures, he still didn't know their real name said that they wanted to help him_. Why? Why do they care what happens to me? No one else ever did._ He'd spent most of his life as a weak little Yaamon and when he'd finally evolved, it was because someone was trying to delete him. Could he really trust them?

Ai left the room quickly and ran into her kitchen. She rummaged through a closet for a moment, and then returned with something wrapped in her hands. She walked close to Impmon and held out her hand to him. Impmon stared at her and then the round object she was giving him uncertainly. 

Ai smiled and pushed it into her hand. "It's a cookie, It tastes really yummy!" Makoto nodded. 

_Oh, the heck with it._ Impmon popped the cookie in his mouth and began to chew. He almost choked when he felt its smooth sweetness enter his throat as he swallowed. It was like nothing he had ever tasted before…

And things had gotten even better. When Impmon had been bandaged as much as he would allow, the family showed him the rest of the place they called a house. He learned that Ai, Makoto, their mother and later their father were all humans and that they had all kinds of interesting stuff. The television had him captivated for hours and when he was strong enough, they took him to see the metropolis that was West Shinjuku.

He'd seen rolling parks and trees. So many types of food and more humans than he could ever hope to count. It was incredible. And when they went back to the house the kids called home, he was given food and the soft "bed" to sleep in, either with Ai or Makoto. All in all, Impmon's life was pretty good. 

***

And it had been, at least until the arguing had started. Yelling, crying, being caught in the middle, he just couldn't take it anymore. And sadly, today's argument had been nothing compared to the past. Impmon clenched his gloved fist. _I can't believe I left them over somethin' so stupid. And I say Gulimon's dumb, well he'd never desert his Tamer, not even when Takato evolved him into Megidramon and he almost destroyed the Digital World. And here I am, bein' selfish. _

Impmon would have continued, but he heard familiar voices in the distance. 

"I promise you Guilmon, as soon as we get to the hideout you can have all the bread you want."

"Really Takato? I can have all of it?"

_Oh this is Perfect, the gogglehead and the lizard._ Impmon suddenly looked up at the gate in front of him. _Wait, if they're comin' here then_...he smirked when he saw that the thunderstorm was over. _It's about time._ He pushed open the gate and came face to face with the red haired Tamer Takato Matsuda, with his yellow goggles still atop his head and Guilmon, the large red dinosaur. Takato had two large bags, undoubtedly from his family's bakery and Guilmon was sniffing at it, inhaling the bread's aroma. 

"Impmon? What are you doing here?" Takato asked in surprise. He put down both bags and smiled slightly when Guilmon began to attack them, looking for his "Guilmon bread." 

Impmon shrugged. "It was rainin' and I needed somewhere to go. Last time I looked this was public property." 

Takato nooded. "Of course, you can come here any time, right Guilmon?" He looked at his partner, then sweatdopped. 

Guilmon had his head buried in the bag and was trying to eat the bread at the same time. Impmon shook his head in disgust. "I'd love to stay and watch Godzilla Junior eat all the bread in Tokyo, but I got things to do. See ya." He began walking away. 

_He sure is a strange digimon._ Takato thought. _But then again, he _**is**_ Impmon._ "Bye Impmon!" He called as he went to help Guilmon get his head out of the bag. 

***

It took him some time, but Impmon finally made it home. His feet were muddy and he was wet, but at least he was home. He moved toward the window, feeling very conspicuous next to such a normal house. He moved quickly, looking in the windows for some sign of his Tamers. 

He saw the dress up clothes back in their box and the living room floor spotless. He continued around the side of the house, worry entering mind. _Did they go somewhere? What if I missed 'em?"_

Walking towards the backyard, he finally saw them, Ai sitting next to the doghouse and looking sadder than Impmon had ever seen her, with the Purple D-Ark around her neck. Makoto was sitting a few feet away from her, playing with his cars distractedly and looking as depressed as his sister. 

Impmon hesitated for a minute, but seeing how sad they were strengthened his resolve. _I made them feel this way and now It's up to me to apologize to them._ He cleared his throat, causing them to look up at him. 

"Yeesh, could you two get any livelier? D-Reaper was practically hysterical compared to you two." 

Ai's eyes widened. "Impmon!" she cried running up to him. Makoto followed her, but stopped a few steps behind her. Ai stood a few feet from him, then looked down at the ground. 

Impmon followed suit. "Look about before, I shouldn't have just left you guys. It was a dumb thing to do over a stupid argument."

"We thought you hated us." Makoto said quietly.

"Hate you? Why the heck would I hate you? I'm the one who screwed up and now I'm fixing things." 

"You're not mad at us?" He asked. 

"I was," Impmon admitted honestly, "But not anymore." 

"Are you going to leave us again Impmon?" Ai asked worriedly. 

Impmon looked up at her and grinned. "What'd I tell you the last time I came back? Now matter what happens, you two are stuck with me." 

Ai finally smiled and with the enthusiasm and innocence of a child, wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. Makoto rolled his eyes and looked on.

Impmon usually wasn't comfortable with humans touching him, but his Tamers were another story. For the first time in a while he felt…happy. 

Ai snuggled closer to him and smiled. "I love you Impmon." Makoto echoed her, "Me too Impmon." 

After so much time denying and ignoring his feelings, Impmon, formerly the most bitter, human hating digimon around replied, "Yeah well, the same to you kids. The same to you." 

The End


End file.
